Election2016

Note: I follow domestic politics but by no means am I an expert in institutions, social movements, democracy, or American history. However, I do study norms: their content, presumed effects, and their robustness. That’s what this post focuses on.

His very candidacy and knowledge that even if Hillary did win by a landslide that still 40-50 million people will have voted for him shakes me to my core. It’s not that I believed that racism, misogyny, sexual assault, and xenophobia were things of the past. It’s not that I believed that fear of muslims and change was only harbored by a remote fringe of the population or readers of theThe Crusader. It’s not even that I believed that a large majority of the 40-50 million who would vote for Trump were motivated by these feelings. What scared (now scares) me most is that norms of equality, non-discrimination, anti-racism, compassion, empathy, smooth and peaceful transfers of power, and appraising policies based on facts alongside beliefs were too weak to withstand the storm of Donald J. Trump. Continue reading →